State of UK Downhill Racing: Havok Bike Park DH

This weekend’s race at Havok served as a reminder of how much fun it can be going to your local race.

Words and pics by Aran Francis

Located just up the road from Singletrackworld HQ in West Yorkshire, Havok BikePark is home to some well crafted trails, featuring some good quality corners, jumps. And some pretty wide open downhill tracks.

Half of the fun of racing for me, and I’m sure many others, is learning the track. Building speed, puzzling over lines and finding the limits on unridden ground is not only part of the fun but also one of the factors that builds such a good community feel at races.

Riders vs The Till as opposed to each other on the practice day is a feeling that comes across especially well at these grassroots events. Living nearby and knowing Havok well, I was concerned that firstly, myself and other locals would be at an unfair advantage and secondly, that with being already familiar with the tracks, this unknown aspect to practice day would be absent. However, the dig crew did a really good job at taping the race track in and out of existing tracks, showcasing a mixture of Havok’s best trails and importantly providing something new for even seasoned regulars.

As for the race track, from the panoramic start to a very noisy finish area the riding had a good level of intensity and, slightly surprisingly for a bikepark that is so well manicured, a good amount of technical riding.

The track started right at the top of the park with some short sharp jumps which required some almighty scrubbing to ride smoothly in race runs. Riders then blasted down the top section of the black with some fast and supportive corners before heading off track, over some jumps and into the only real pedally section of the race. After merely five seconds or so of pedalling, riders were then fed into the dual slalom track. For me this was a clear highlight of the run, bouncing between the two lines from berm to berm, this section was the subject of a lot of Saturday puzzling to navigate through the ruts and lumps.

Following this, a steep grassy bank into a big left hander that looked more supportive than it really is was followed by a much nicer right hander and tiny scrub requiring lip. Then followed the ‘Stall Wall’, similar to that of Loudenvielle Downhill World Cup fame (only smaller), riders were spat off the top of a berm into a grassy bank. There was a temptation to boost this bank Goldstone-style, but the flat corner that followed demanded some more sensible riding.

What followed then was carnage.

Steep rutted turns down to the finish with most of the crowd gathering and heckling here. This is where many riders were getting unstuck, carrying too much speed in and struggling to take it off. There were a few little straight lines but after some retaping, riding with a nice rythm became the key.

Whilst this track was immense fun, dare I say one of the most fun tracks I have raced in a while, I think it was the spectators and community feel that made this race so enjoyable. To bolster this vibe, the kids ‘Mini Shredders’ race took place on Saturday, with practice being paused to allow an adequate level of heckling for the kids. Crowd noise makes such a difference even as an adult racing, so this atmosphere for the kids was really nice to see. As a competitor it’s also insanely fun watching four year olds on tiny bikes sending themselves off take-offs in race runs.

Another aspect of praise I have for the Havok team is that of value. These days it’s common to see race entry fees exceeding that of £70 or more especially for uplift based downhill. I am not knocking organisers here, with paying marshalls, hiring timing systems and often paying land rights the costs do soar. However, partially thanks to some wonderful volunteer marshals, entry fees for Havok were just £30 with uplift included. I can’t think of a better day riding I’ve had at an uplift bike park that cost less than that, let alone racing.

Line of the day

Whilst the dual slalom section did offer some seriously varied line choice, for me there is one clear vote for line of the day.

Right at the top of the run the track traversed the hill side following the standard black route. This trail is fun to ride normally, but at race pace the corners all just feel a bit too tight. Here the alternative was to cut high up onto the 45° hillslope, riding the camber above the corners before dropping back in. Again, this line wasn’t without risk with plenty of riders not committing enough and falling back onto the track early and in some cases coming off it completely. If done well this line straightened the track, kept the momentum going and allowed a good deal of exit speed to be carried out into the next straight.

Results

With an interesting spread of riders (a very heavy youth wing), the age categories were a touch unorthodox. Juniors (12-15) Seniors (16-25) and masters (26 upwards). The juniors as always produced some tight racing. This time Jacob McLean took the win after looking fast all weekend, Charlie Wheeler and Jacob Plumtree joined him on the podium.

Pete Watson emerged from BMX land to take the win in senior with the fastest time of the day, followed by Aran Francis (yours truly!) and Joe Kolita.

In the 26+ category Ben Hinchcliffe took the win with Jake Oakden in second and Martin Roberts in third.

As for the Mini Shredders on saturday Johnny Weston took the win in the 4-7 category, Seth Robinson took the win in the 8-9s and Koza Wilcox took the win in the 10-12s.

For myself it was really nice to join two good mates from Uni on the podium and take the 2nd fastest time of the day. On top of this being so close to home it was nice to race with so many familiar faces both spectating and competing. This weekend Havok hosted a really enjoyable event with an even better atmosphere.

PSA: If your local bike park hosts a race, you should go.

havokmtb.co.uk